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L I T H U A N I A N A M E R I C A N N E W S J O U R N A L
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BRIDGES (ISSN: 87508028) is published10 times per year (Jan./Feb. & Jul./Aug.combined) for $20.00, by LithuanianAmerican News Journal. Issue: 361Address of publication is:
LAC, Inc./BRIDGES,78 Mark Twain Dr., Hamil ton Sq., NJ 08690
BRIDGESis the official publication of the
Lithuanian American Community, Inc.National Executive Board
2715 E. Allegheny Ave., Phila., PA 19134Tel: 800- 625 -1170Fax: 856-428-6014
E-mail: Lithuanian [email protected] Consultants
Jeanne Dorr EditorGema Kreivenas Art Director/ProductionRimas Gedeika Treasurer & Subscription
ManagerCopyright 2011 Lithuanian American Community, Inc. All rightsreserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced without writ-
ten permission of the publisher. All statements & opinions, includingproduct claims, are those of the organization/advertiser makingthose statements or claims. The publisher does not adopt, or putforth, any such statement or claim as his own, & any such statementor claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher.
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c o n t e n t s
*BACKCOVER:
The 14th LithuanianFolk Dance Festivalis coming to Boston onJuly 1, 2012Come experience this celebration ofLithuanian dance and culture!
Lithuanian AmericanCommunity
CONTACT INFORMATION:
WEBSITE
W W W . L I T H U A N I A N - A M E R I C A N . O R GTELEPHONE
800-625-1170
in this issue2 editorial
Letter from the EditorJeanne Dorr
4 educationA Challenging YearEleonora Lekaviciu-te6 reflections
Music, basketball,tea, and the recipefor porridge
Ramune Kubilius
10 cultureXIV LITHUANIANFOLK DANCEFESTIVALJULY 1, 2012
Boston, MAGloria R. Adomkaitis
10 cultureBERZELISDalia Dzikas
11 reflectionsTHIS & THATIN OLD VILNIUSGloria Kivytaite OBrien
12 cultureLithuanian Craft Show
Krista Bard
14 photo albumPhiladelphia Museum ofArt Craft Show
16 reflectionsPart I-HISTORY OF THELITHUANIAN GUARD ANDLABOR SERVICE COMPANIES INPOST WAR GERMANYHenry L. Gaidis
20 educationNew Fungi named afterDuke biology professor
20 folk taleWHY THE PRINCESSLAUGHED AGAIN
22 cultureZilvinasFolk Dance Group of PhiladelphiaRamune Cobb
*FRONT COVER:
Monument of the
UNKNOWN SOLDIER
Kaunas, Lithuania
Photo by Juozas Lukosevicius ,
Vilkaviskis, Lithuania.
Upon visiting cemeteries and graves of soldiers,we usually see their names on monuments orcrosses. But sometimes we find a cross with asimple wording: An Unknown Soldier. Manytimes a soldier, fighting for his country, dies incircumstances (perhaps the body is mutilated),that nobody can claim him. Nobody visits hisgrave or sheds tears, because nobody knowswhere his grave is.
To honor all these Unknown Heroes, anunknown soldier is buried in a public place and amonument is built. The public can visit this graveand honor all Unknown Soldiers who gave their
lives for their country. Wreaths are placed by theUnknown Soldier's monument, and it is honoredby dignitaries, organizations and representativesof foreign countries.
In Lithuania, the Unknown Soldier's Monu-ment was built in the Vytautas the Great Park,beside the Tower of The Bell of Freedom. It wasa simple square stone monument with theinscription: REDE QUOD DEBES, which means:"Give what you must". These heroes gave theirlives for their country without demanding honoror pay.
Remains of the Unknown Soldier, who foughtfor Lithuania's independence, were put in a shrinelocated in the park of the War Museum. Theywere preserved with loving care and decoratedwith flowers on national holidays. The UnknownSoldier's unconditional dedication to liberty is aninspiration to all Lithuanians. A monument waserected with stones gathered from battle fieldswhere independence was won.
Book "LITHUANIA MY HERITAGE"1989 - Chicago
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4 j a n u a r y / f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 2
e d u c a t i o nA Challenging Year
Eleonora Lekaviciu-te
Before it happened, I always told myself that in a fewyears I would find some way to spend a year in the U.S.But it was more like a thing which you really want to do,
but at the same time secretly know its never going tohappen. So the day I got an offer to try my luck withExCEL (Exchanges for Culture, Education, and Leader-ship) I didnt hesitate too much and having no fearssimply signed up. It happened too fast. In less than twomonths of testing, interviews and what not, I got a phonecall and jokingly was told to sit down and take a glass ofwater. I might be slightly over emotional, but a winner ofa million dollars wouldve looked pathetic next to me!My happiness couldnt have been brought down byanything.
Therefore, leaving wasnt that hard. We had aroundtwo weeks to get ready and to say bye to everyone.Though besides that, there was one more horrifyingexperience it was packing. Putting your whole life inluggage appeared as a long and tiring process, which Iactually started only on the last day in Lithuania. The nextmorning I was already flying across the Atlantic Ocean,I spent a night in D.C. and in a few more hours I was inSt. Louis, Missouri, my new home for a year.
Its interesting that the first cultural difference I noticedwas on the plane. It appeared that in the U.S. people will
put ice in about every kind of drink. My friend drank milkwith it! I had to get used to saying no ice, please inevery single restaurant. It was one of the little things thatyou dont really pay attention to, but which surprises youevery day and makes your life in a small, sweet town likeKirkwood where I lived look so special.
Mainly things were the same. Some people were dis-appointed to know that back where Im from we actuallyhave cars and we drink coke. We dont drive in carriagesto work and we dont eat horse heads. But I thought thatthe small differences were even more interesting. Forexample, my new friends seemed amused by how everysingle time I saw a squirrel I would get all impressed andexcited. And Kirkwood was filled with them! Or the factthat I couldnt believe everyone actually enjoys drinkingroot beer, while I cant even swallow the smallest sip.All of these first week impressions woke up curiosity inme I wanted to explore, to learn, to take everything
what this year has to offer me.And then my year with all its good and bad sides,
worries and pleasures finally began. To start with, whenyou are an exchange student, you cant choose whereyoull get placed, so this small concern about the place,the family, the school always worries you before you getthere.
I must say I was really lucky the people who hostedme appeared to be great and helped me feel like I was a
part of the family. Nonetheless, living with someone else
Before leaving for the U.S., the first ExCEL students(Eleonora is on the left) attended a meeting with American
Ambassador Anne E. Derse and Lithuanian Prime Minister
Andrius Kubilius.
After spending the full year in the U.S. the group decided to takeone more picture and compare it to the one they tookbefore leaving. They were surprised to see how much theyhad grown.
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Continued on page 13
Enjoying first snow on Turkey Day with her host sister Gaile(Eleonora is on the right).
is always a tough experience, no matter how wonderful
they are. Different house rules, habits, and it takes a whileuntil you get to know each other well enough, to feelcomfortable with each other. There will be some hard mo-ments, when you cant think about anything else besidestaking the first plane and getting back home to be withyour loved ones. But yes what doesnt kill you makesyou stronger. Even on some worse days, I managed tostay positive and it gave me lots of benefits.
Going to school was also a challenge. Kirkwood HighSchool had almost 2000 students, while my school inLithuania was two times smaller. The first month there Iwould get lost and end up being late for my classes.
Everything about it was different there were no uni-forms, instead of a set schedule, I chose my own classesand even the teacher student relationship surprised me.I loved my teachers and the way most of them were goodfriends to me by the end of the year. They taught me agreat deal and a part of it was not only plain facts, butsome helpful advice for life, too. I learned to look at ateacher more like a real person whos trying to do yougood and not someone who judges you by your perform-ance. I enjoyed my classes and the way I learned thingsthat I couldve never learned if not for the exchange pro-gram. U.S history was definitely one of my favourite onesand I even managed to get the highest score on the final
exam! A different language was an obstacle in classesonly for the first few weeks, because with every day youget better at it. But getting fully adjusted took sometime, for sure. There were days when I had to struggle tounderstand some topic. But the school never stopped
being so interesting to me.
While school and the new family was a huge part ofmy experience, socialising was probably the most essen-tial and difficult part. The first days everyone shows hugeinterest in you, they want to know where youre from,
how your language sounds, what its like living awayfrom your home and so on. But in a week thats all overand since I was a little bit scared at first, I had to find alot of strength in myself to overcome those fears and juststart showing initiative. I noticed a lot of differenceswhen it came to communication between people. Id sayit was easier for a person to start a new relationship withsomeone, because everyone seemed to be relaxed andfriendly. But at the same time, it was harder to keep thoserelationships stronger, to get to know someone reallywell. By the end of the year I had lots of great friendswho were really close to me. Leaving everyone was oneof the hardest things to do. I still keep in touch with mostof the people I got to spend time with, and I even sent a
package filled with presents to my closest friends andnow Im waiting for one to be sent to Lithuania. We arearranging plans for visits and we cant wait to see eachother again.
Id say that the worst part of this year was sayinggoodbye. It was unbelievably hard seeing your friends,your school, your family or the streets you walked everysingle day for the last time. You know youre goingto visit and come again, but it wont be the same aswhen the life you created there is over. I always telleveryone that it was hard leaving everything for a year,
but in the end its even harder leaving everything forever.But I know I still have tons of great and dear memorieswhich wont ever leave me. I have wonderful people Iknow who changed me in all sorts of good ways duringmy stay in the U.S. I gained experience which will helpme later in life. And I am sure Ill always be welcome inKirkwood.
This year also built me as a person helped mebecome more independent, open minded, tolerant, wiser,patient and even more relaxed.
Prom was one of the best nights she experienced in the U.S.Eleonora (on the left) and her friends were having dinner andtaking photos before leaving for the dance.
e d u c a t i o n
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12 j a n u a r y / f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 2
Lithuania has been selected to be the featuredcountry at the 2013 Philadelphia Museum of ArtCraft Show. This annual event takes place everyNovember at the Philadelphia Convention Centerand draws over 20,000 people in a four dayperiod. It is a great honor to be so selected, and atribute to the world class level of Lithuanian art. Itis hoped that people of Lithuanian heritage fromall around the country will show support and planto attend.
The focus on Lithuanian craft artists is especiallysignificant at this time in that Lithuania will assumethe presidency of the European Union for the sec-ond half of 2013, drawing international attention.The spotlight will shine on Lithuania not onlypolitically, but culturally as well.
The process for Lithuania to be accepted into thePhiladelphia Museum of Art has been three yearsin the making, involving various ministries andembassies. Last year, Saule Mazeikaite, the direc-
tor of international projects for the
Lithuanian Ministry of Culture,received approval, and she and artcurator Roma Surviliene devotedthemselves to identifying and gath-ering images of work that bestrepresents contemporary Lithuaniancraft art.
On November 12, 2011,Ms. Mazeikaite presented imagesof work from 50 of Lithuanias finestcraft artists to Nancy OMeara,director of the Philadelphia Museum
of Art Craft Show, and also tothe Chairmen of the Craft ShowDirectors Committee, Judy Pote andElissa Topol. Deimante Bartkiene,economic officer of the Lithuanianembassy, and Honorary ConsulKrista Bard also attended the pres-entation.
Ms. Mazeikaite showed images
Lithuanian Craft Show 2013Krista Bard
Lithuanian Ministry of Culture representative Saule Mazeikaite (glasses) visits the Philadelphia Museumof Art Craft Show this past November 2011.
c u l t u r e
Left to right: Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show DirectorNancy O'Meara, Lithuanian Ministry of Culture representativeSaule Mazeikate, Scottish artist, 2011 Craft Show Chair ReidBodek, KYW Newsradio Reporter Rasa Kaye, and LithuanianHonorary Consul Krista Bard.
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The 14th Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival is
coming to Boston, MAJuly 1, 2012
PERIODICALPOSTAGE
bridgesL I T H U A N I A N A M E R I C A N N E W S J O U R N A L
V O L U M E 3 6 I S S U E 1
Meet BERZELISLithuanian folk dance group from
Connecticut, based in Hartford.
Dancing Lobsters, Litas and Lietuna andBostoOrganizing Committee. Left: kneeling, Lina Suba
standing, left to right, Ru-ta Mickunas, Marius ZiaugBirute Ziaugra Right: kneeling: Gloria Adomka standing, left to right , Paulius Bernotas, DaBernotas, Angele Grigonis-Regan Missing from ph
Rima Girnius Daiva Verselis
